Mussen (second left) and Dr Tan (third left) try to find out more information on the Bangladeshi soft shell crab from the supplier.
KUCHING: Mention the country Bangladesh, and straight away many of us think about its hot and dry weather, huge population, the traffic congestion in capital city Dhaka and the number of Bangladeshi workers coming to work in our country.
But little is known of the country’s growing economy, which makes Bangladesh one of Next Eleven emerging markets in the world.
Kuching Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCGCCI) recently held a trade and investment mission to Bangladesh, and now they are considering a follow up trip following the success of the mission. The mission’s delegation head Dr Christopher Ngui said the inaugural trade mission from April 7 to 13 was an eye-opening experience to all the 34 delegates who were visiting Bangladesh for the first time.
After a week packed with meeting ministers and local business community and visits to factories, he said the delegates now realised Bangladesh can offer many business opportunities rather than just supplier of workers to Malaysia.
“Personally, I would say the trade mission was successful, and we have achieved our objective which was to seek to explore potential business and investment opportunities in Bangladesh.
“We received a very warm response from the ministers, authorities, local chambers of commerce and during our factory visits. We did not expect that kind of reception.
“If we can get investors, we will arrange to have another trip for a more detailed study of trade and investment opportunities there,” said Dr Ngui, who is KCGCCI commerce committee chairman.
While in Dhaka, the delegation paid courtesy calls on Bangladesh’s Minister of Fisheries and Livestock Muhammed Sayedul Hoque and Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, held meeting with officials of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority of the Prime Minister’s Office, and also meeting and business-to-business session with Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau. They also held open discussion with Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI), meeting with Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and meeting and business-to-business matching session with Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry. They visited the manufacturing facilities of Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Well Food Company and AKH Eco Apparels Ltd.
KCGCCI organised the inaugural trade mission on invitation of the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Malaysia. Joining the trip were members of Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Association (Sheda).
Dr Ngui said the meetings were very informative with regards to Bangladesh’s economic progress and incentives made available to investors.
“Bangladesh has a total area of 147,000 square kilometres, which is half the size of Malaysia, but it has a population of 160 million – one of the highest in the world.
“And yet, the country succeeded to maintain gross domestic product (GDP) growth of more than 6 per cent over the past few years, including achieving 7.1 per cent GDP growth last year with GDP of USD250 billion.
“The country’s export volume also grew in the last 10 years, and now the Bangladesh government is aiming to achieve middle income economy by 2030. This means the country is experiencing continuous growth, and making it a potential destination for foreign investors,” he said.
He went on to say that among Bangladesh’s advantage is availability of young workforce and the low cost of production, as well as its strategic location to export products to Indian sub-continent, Middle East and Europe.
He said the delegation were also interested in importing Ready-Made-Garments (RMG) and shoes from Bangladesh, and at the same time eager to export their products and services to cater for the large population there.
“In the field of agriculture, probably our government can work together with Bangladesh and harvest rice three times a year with higher yield. They (Bangladesh) had shown they were still able to have surplus rice production despite a population of 160 million, and export their rice overseas.
“We also looked at possible cooperation in terms of supply of beef, mutton and dairy products to Sarawak, and also possibility of working together in the fisheries sector,” he said.
Meanwhile, SHEDA assistant treasurer Augustine Wong and Kuching branch treasurer Dr Richard Tan believed there is potential to cooperate in housing and real estate development in Bangladesh particularly Dhaka considering its growing middle income population.
While they were excited by what Bangladesh could offer, they said another visit to Bangladesh is needed as follow up to better understand the procedures and processes involved when foreign investors joined forces with local partners.
“In Dhaka, we see there will be demand for high rise properties among those working and living there. That’s where we may want to come in,” said Dr Tan.
KCGCCI secretary-general Jonathan Chai also believed a follow up trip is needed in order for the bilateral trade and business relations to move up another gear.
“We have seen and listened to the potential business tie ups, and we were impressed. We have started the ball rolling, and we hope to get it going,” he said.
He also hoped there would be government-to-government discussions between Malaysian and Bangladesh governments in order to facilitate Malaysian companies to set up their manufacturing facilities in one of the 100 free economic zones now developed in Bangladesh.
The mission’s honorary delegation leader Assistant Minister for Agriculture Malcolm Mussen Lamoh was also impressed with the trip, adding there is potential for companies from both countries to work together through digital economy.